tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post4890839897817909495..comments2024-03-13T07:34:24.149+00:00Comments on The Age of Uncertainty: Trains, Plays and Auto-AwesomesSteerforthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-89643981189947526422015-02-10T22:43:45.818+00:002015-02-10T22:43:45.818+00:00Steerforth, on the other hand, some brutal honesty...Steerforth, on the other hand, some brutal honesty from suppliers also has its awkward moments.<br /><br />I know a bookseller who once received a delivery note from a publisher, with his order, that read "I'm freezing my tits off in this xxxx warehouse."<br />It wasn't anonymous, either.<br /><br />Maybe we can find a happy medium. "Thank you for your order", though bland, seems to cover the bases.Dalenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-90060608499931741172015-02-10T19:51:45.650+00:002015-02-10T19:51:45.650+00:00Sorry about the typo above. It's not Plonkerl ...Sorry about the typo above. It's not <i>Plonkerl</i> - he's a cartoon character from communist Czechoslovakia.Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-11729827506087039282015-02-10T19:49:37.321+00:002015-02-10T19:49:37.321+00:00Rog - I received a confirmation email from Boden o...Rog - I received a confirmation email from Boden once that said something along the lines of "Yay! Thanks for your order. We're doing a little dance of joy." Either they were being sarcastic or horribly insincere (it probably serves me right for ordering from Boden, but their children's coats are the best of a bad lot). <br /><br />Chris - I'm glad you're now familiar with <i>plonker</i>/. It was a polite alternative to a word I wanted to use. I don't think I've ever used it before because it's very local to London and is a good 20 years out of date.<br /><br />Some words don't travel. I'm ashamed to say that until last week, I thought that the Superbowl involved skittles. We live and learn.Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-64617863986813197662015-02-10T13:49:16.959+00:002015-02-10T13:49:16.959+00:00While reading this piece was made worth it by virt...While reading this piece was made worth it by virtue of my having been introduced to the word "plonker," I also think your point about lighting in theater is an interesting one. It really is an underrated art. When I used to do musical direction for high school plays, we were fortunate enough to have help from an alumnus who was a professional lighting man and he and I used to spend late nights working (I on musical details and he on programming the lights) and I was always surprised by the meticulousness of his work. In the end, his lighting elevated the shows from what they really were into something bordering on professional. (At any rate, they mitigated some of the self-conscious teenaged "acting.") Chris Matarazzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17885109959459471509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-14432101651692694252015-02-09T19:38:37.847+00:002015-02-09T19:38:37.847+00:00Boxes which say Got It!Boxes which say Got It!Roghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09430706557035189147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-79516439462226585832015-02-09T19:36:45.668+00:002015-02-09T19:36:45.668+00:00I'm SO with you on the guys thing! I really re...I'm SO with you on the guys thing! I really recoil when it gets used to me and the wife. And while we're at it, also the boxed Roghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09430706557035189147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-77507376514653615242015-02-09T17:56:18.418+00:002015-02-09T17:56:18.418+00:00Carol - I find it quite creepy when people use one...Carol - I find it quite creepy when people use one's name and for a cashier to use your first name is disrespectful. I don't think I'm being stuffy, but the whole point of using first names and terms like "you guys" is that they are a gesture of friendship. If businesses think they can appropriate this language to try and make us feel better about them and buy more, they're barking up the wrong tree. I hope.Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-14890468118538072942015-02-09T17:09:09.912+00:002015-02-09T17:09:09.912+00:00I know what you mean about "you guys." ...I know what you mean about "you guys." Another thing which I always find rather annoying is being addressed simply as "Carol." Yes, it's my name, but the clerk doesn't know me so it just sounds too cosy for words. <br /><br />As proof that the clerk doesn't know me, I offer the following: I returned an item to the store, which I'd paid for with a credit card which has my name on it. There was some problem with the scanning of the hang tag, and my receipt, so it took longer than usual. I finally got my return sorted, and the clerk said, "Thank you, Carol." <br /><br />I went back into the store where I picked up another item, and returned to the front to pay for it. I was waited on by the same clerk who took the troublesome return. She smiled brightly and said, "How are you today?" <br /><br />She obviously hadn't the slightest idea that she'd ever seen me before, even though she'd spent at least five minutes getting the computer till problems sorted out less than fifteen minutes earlier.<br /> <br />Now that's what I call a close friend! Canadian Chickadeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12995693884248628958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-50226817656863116532015-02-09T14:23:52.837+00:002015-02-09T14:23:52.837+00:00I've not seen Treasure Island (I'd have lo...I've not seen Treasure Island (I'd have loved to hear the John Tams sea shanty though - have an album by his band Home Service somewhere). I love the things that they can do with the Olivier revolving stage at the National. Alan Bennett's Wind in the Willows used it rather well I remember... Annabelhttp://gaskella.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-33291943060622335372015-02-09T14:01:19.201+00:002015-02-09T14:01:19.201+00:00Josh - Yes, the music is also overlooked. I once w...Josh - Yes, the music is also overlooked. I once wrote some incidental music for a couple of plays and was quite pleased with it. When the broadsheets published their reviews, I hopefully scanned them for phrases like "the incidental music was particularly impressive..." Naturally it was ignored. I suppose that was better than a negative review.<br /><br />But where would Planet of the Apes be without Jerry Goldsmith's haunting music, or Vertigo, with Bernard Hermann's wonderful score?<br /><br />As for <i>incentivise</i> it's awful because it's a stick pretending to be a carrot.<br /><br />Carol - If only we knew then how those setbacks would turn out to be one of the best pieces of luck we'd ever had. At the time, it just feels as if the world has ended. When my first date didn't want to see me again, I felt awful. I wrote about it here: http://ageofuncertainty.blogspot.co.uk/2007/12/hardyesque.html<br /><br />Rog - Anything with 'Awesome' annoys me, but I also like the surprise of seeing odd things happen to my pictures.<br /><br />In addition to 'awesome', I'm also becoming increasingly annoyed by the tendency for young staff to address my wife and I as "you guys", as if we're in an episode of <i>Friends</i>,. Last week, I finally lost it and grumpily told someone that I wasn't a guy. Unfortunately, I think they took it to mean that I was some sort of transgender person.Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-5572380544895053692015-02-09T07:47:52.407+00:002015-02-09T07:47:52.407+00:00I know the effects can look good but I hated the s...I know the effects can look good but I hated the smart Alec cockiness of auto awesome and even more hated the name auto awesome - so I switched it off. It is an option! (Don't give me options)Roghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09430706557035189147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-71178169037199908252015-02-09T03:10:04.500+00:002015-02-09T03:10:04.500+00:00Amazing how things turn out, isn't it? The bo...Amazing how things turn out, isn't it? The boy I was madly in love with at 16, dumped me unceremoniously before the biggest dance of the school year. Best thing that ever happened to me.<br /><br />The man I met and married after university has treated me as if I were a queen, and shared his love and delight of his English family with me for many years. They were and are great, and I know how lucky I am to be able to say that. In fact, I can't wait to get back to England so that I can see them again. Canadian Chickadeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12995693884248628958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-70168778092275347682015-02-09T02:21:04.270+00:002015-02-09T02:21:04.270+00:00I once had a film instructor on a short course wh...I once had a film instructor on a short course who said something like 'sound is the cinderella factor'. I can't quite remember what the connection with Cinderella was but what he meant was that though you may not notice the sound it can make or break a film. I imagine the same could be said for lighting and even that not noticing it may even be a compliment.<br /><br />I'm going to barge on in and add that one of the newspeak words that bugs me (apart from the widely derided 'going forward') is 'incetivise' - what the hell is wrong with encourage?Josh in Japannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-18393810073633420042015-02-08T21:20:42.118+00:002015-02-08T21:20:42.118+00:00George - Thanks for the link. That's an intrig...George - Thanks for the link. That's an intriguing building and New Orleans would be the perfect starting point for a Masonic/Jesuit conspiracy. Sadly, I've never visited the city, but Google Earth and some superficial research on Wikipedia will suffice.Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-24329295005779956142015-02-08T20:07:01.867+00:002015-02-08T20:07:01.867+00:00If you want to work a Jesuit conspiracy in to your...If you want to work a Jesuit conspiracy in to your book, I commend to you as starting point a building I noticed on Carondelet Street in New Orleans: AD MAIOREM DEI GLORIAM carved in the pediment, but beneath that stained glass proclaiming the building a Scottish Rite Temple. Jesuits and Masons, what more could you want? I have a picture at http://dc20011.blogspot.com/2014/06/probably-it-is-humidity.htmlGeorgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14819154529261482038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-45406647834955747302015-02-08T18:14:11.731+00:002015-02-08T18:14:11.731+00:00Helena - You're so right about phone conversat...Helena - You're so right about phone conversations in public. Someone phoned me from Royal Mail's Business Account 'team' while I was on the train (nobody ever calls me usually) and I had to try and sound like a grown-up, but I could almost hear the other passengers, sorry, <i>customers</i> thinking how ghastly I was.<br /><br />Kid - That's very kind of you. I'm just grateful that you read the blog entries and wouldn't dare to presume that anyone would want to read a book.<br /><br />Brian - Thank you. According to an article about self-publishing in today's Sunday Times, if a self-published book can sell over 3,000 downloads on Amazon, a publishing deal awaits. However, if I really want to "shift some units" as they like to say, I'll have to introduce either some bondage (not <i>a la</i> Maugham), a Jesuit conspiracy or a divorced, alcoholic Scandinavian detective. <br /><br />George - I considered many possibilities as I scrutinised the couple. I agree, it's unlikely that she gave him a black eye. Apart from anything, she would have needed a stepladder to reach her target. She was very small indeed. Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-22542592732479949992015-02-08T16:14:20.128+00:002015-02-08T16:14:20.128+00:00About a year and a quarter ago, I tripped while ru...About a year and a quarter ago, I tripped while running, and got an impressive black eye. A neighbor, who knows us well, and knows that my wife's best punch might not bruise a peach, kindly informed me that there is hotline in which one may anonymously report spousal abuse. Most men do seem to marry women who are smaller than they are, both in height and in lean body mass; so perhaps the meek fellow inflicted his own black eye, as I did, with clumsiness.<br /><br />Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14819154529261482038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-46240172120329676882015-02-08T14:49:38.413+00:002015-02-08T14:49:38.413+00:00(Apologies for the typo. I've been struggling ...(Apologies for the typo. I've been struggling with a phantom cursor. Didn't even know such a thing existed until last week. I wish it on no one. )Brian Busbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04120341319506205062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-63820801817287669232015-02-08T14:09:36.616+00:002015-02-08T14:09:36.616+00:00I will be he second, Kid. I will be he second, Kid. Brian Busbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04120341319506205062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-67625517599945946992015-02-08T12:46:00.184+00:002015-02-08T12:46:00.184+00:00I used to visit London every week on business, so ...I used to visit London every week on business, so enjoyed seeing your photos of the place. Funnily enough, I was looking at photos I'd taken in St. Pauls back in December of '87. One day, you must gather together some of your interesting writings and publish them in a book. I'll be your first customer.Kidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07224781868125924337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-91781105164849910492015-02-08T12:28:54.478+00:002015-02-08T12:28:54.478+00:00So many interesting things in this post! I love th...So many interesting things in this post! I love the thought of your potential sacrifice for the benefit of music lovers (but am glad you didn't succumb). That bullying woman who doesn't even bother to pretend in public these days, or maybe she's even worse in private? Does anyone sound reasonable in one side of a phone conversation which one is forced to listen to? And thank goodness none of those whisperers said "jump"...<br /><br />I sympathise with your son. There are certain styles of music I don't like at all, and a warning along the lines he suggests could come in useful, amended according to preference.Helenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01553503435833467369noreply@blogger.com